Day 7

The rain seemed never ending. It down poured for two days which was fine with me. Since I had to tell Leiv that I couldn't continue with our blossoming relationship, I found it best to stay below deck, no matter how nauseating the smell was.

Once the storm had passed, we set sail once more and began making our way north. It wasn't until about midday before I dared to venture above deck while Isaac listened to the other men tell stories of their sexual conquests in Aberdeen. I sit on the stairs leading up to the upper deck, looking out in the distance watching the rise and fall of the water. Filling my lungs with the salty sea air, I daydream about meeting Alastair for the first time. Will he look like William? Will he greet me as a sister-in-law or would he want nothing to do with me? Thinking of the latter, I frown.

"I'm surprised to see you above deck."

Hearing his voice, I close my eyes for a moment before turning my head to look at him. "I would have stayed down there longer had it not been for my need for fresh air."

Leiv chuckles as he sits down beside me and hands me a pewter cup. "Nothing like the smell of urine, vomit and unwashed men to make you want to abandon your hideout." Using his teeth to pry the cork from the bottle of wine he was carrying, he pours some into both of our cups then sets it down by his feet. He raises his cup. "To William." He smiles. "May he find peace, wherever he is."

"To William." I smile. We each take a drink and silence falls between us. I lower my cup and stare down at the contents. "I'm surprised you're still talking to me."

He glances at me. "Why? Because of our conversation the other night?"

I nod. "I feel terrible for leading you on."

He looks down at his cup with a sigh. "You didn't lead me on." He says quietly.

I shift to face him, a frown tugging at the corners of my mouth. "Yes, I did. I gave the impression that something could happen between us when it can't."

He looks up at me and grins. "You told me yourself that you wanted it just as much as I do. Regardless of your own desires, you stopped it so that you could keep your promise to Isaac. How can I be mad at you for honoring your word?"

I look down and he nudges me. "Maybe one day, it really will happen. Kemst þó hægt fari."

I glance at him. "What does that mean?"

"It means, 'You will reach your destination even though you travel slowly.'" He smiles. "If I must wait, I will. You're a woman worth waiting for, Eva."

I smile at him and for a fleeting moment, I think about Robin. If and when I return to England, will he still be waiting for me? Or will he find another woman like he did when he was in the holy land?

I feel a pang of jealousy but quickly push it away. I wouldn't blame him for finding somebody new. I broke things off between us and left without any indication that I would return.

"So," He says, bringing me from my thoughts. "Are you nervous?"

Turning my head to look at him, I raise an eyebrow. "About what?"

He shrugs. "Going to Scotland after all this time and meeting Will's family."

I exhale. "More than I can say." I frown. "With Will's passing, who knows how I will be received. With my luck, his brother will probably think I'm only there to claim ownership or get money from him. Either that or that I'm an imposter."

"I can assure you that that won't happen." He says, taking a drink of his wine.

"How do you know?"

As he lowers his cup, I notice his smirk. "The night you came to break things off, I was just coming back from town. I sent a rider with a letter for Alastair telling him that I was coming to visit him to discuss a serious matter."

I frown. "Did you tell him about me or about William?"

He shakes his head. "No. News like that is better to give in person. As for you, I'd rather present you in person." He smiles. "I'll vouch for you that you are indeed William's wife."

For a moment, I'm unsure of what to say. I place a hand on his arm and allow a smile to spread across my face as our eyes meet. "Thank you, Leiv. You have no idea how much that means to me."

He returns my smile as he covers my hand with his. "I know."

I lean in to give him an appreciative peck on the cheek just as I see Isaac starting to climb up on deck from the corner of my eye. I turn just as he notices us and I see him frown.

Standing, I hand the cup back to Leiv. "Thanks for everything, Leiv. The wine and letter were definitely what I needed to lift my spirits." I say. "See you at dinner?"

He nods. "See you then."

Turning away from him, I stride over to Isaac. "Heard enough stories?" I smirk.

"For the meantime. After noticing you weren't with me, I came looking for you." He says, casting a sideways glance at Leiv.

I shrug. "I needed some air. Being around unwashed men for a few days was starting to nauseate me."

Isaac nods as he glances over at Leiv once more. "What was that all about?" He asks.

I roll my eyes. "Relax. I gave him a small kiss on the cheek to thank him."

He shoots me an annoyed glance. "Yeah, you seem to be thanking him a lot lately."

"It wasn't like that." I say with an impatient wave. I grab his arm and pull him with me to the railing. "He was telling me that he sent a rider with a message to Will's brother, Alastair." I grin.

His brows knit together in a confused expression. "He knows Alastair?"

"Apparently. I don't know how. I was about to ask him when you showed up." I glance at Leiv who is now talking to one of his men. "The kiss you saw was me thanking him for telling Alastair about our voyage. Hopefully, he'll be able to get us an audience."

Isaac sighs. "That would make things easier for us." He lowers his voice. "What if he's lying?"

"About what?"

He shrugs. "All of it. The letter and knowing Alastair. Think about it. He obviously has feelings for you and I'm sure he's willing to say anything to make you happy. Lie or not."

I roll my eyes. "Isaac, you're being paranoid."

"And you're being careless." He shoots back.

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks as I feel my anger bubbling up inside me. "Do you trust me?"

He gives me a confused expression. "What?"

"Do. You. Trust me?" I ask.

"Of course I trust you."

"Then trust me when I say I trust him and that nothing is going on between us. I promised you that I wouldn't encourage him any further and I haven't." I say. I point off towards the stairs. "What you saw over there was exactly as I said it was. He told me about the letter and I thanked him. That was it."

He lets out a weary sigh. "Fine. I'm sorry. You're right. I've been overreacting and questioning your judgment was wrong."

"Thank you." I say, stepping back slightly. "If it makes you feel any better, at dinner tonight, we can ask him how he knows Alastair. You were trained to spot when somebody is lying so you can watch and make a verdict. Deal?"

He nods. "Deal."

Later that night, we sat at the wooden table across from Leiv so Isaac could watch him as we spoke while we ate.

"Leiv, can I ask you something?" I begin. From the corner of my eye, I see Isaac look up from his food.

Leiv nods. "Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." I nod. "When we were talking earlier, I never got to ask you the story behind how you know Alastair."

"I'm surprised Will never told you." He says. "Him, Alastair and I have known each other since we were boys."

My brows knit together. "But how? You told me you grew up in Denmark?"

"I did." He nods. "My father was a farmer and a warrior. When I came of age, my brothers and I joined him on a raiding expedition in Scotland. One night, while our raiding party was camped in the forest not far from where we were going to raid, I foolishly went out alone to scout the enemy. Since I was young and inexperienced on the battlefield, I wanted to show my father and the raiding party that I was just as good as my brothers."

"What happened?" I frowned.

"I was captured and placed in this caged wagon like an animal." He says. "They spoke in such a strange language that I couldn't understand a word they were saying. I had no idea who they were or where they were taking me."

"Why didn't they just kill you?" Isaac asks.

Leiv shrugs. "I'm guessing they wanted to sell me off. We traveled for days yet only once did they let me out of the cage. When they finally did, I killed them, took their weapons and tried to make my way back to my raiding party." He uses his knife to cut a chunk of cheese and takes a bite. "Somehow in that time, I had wandered off towards Galloway."

Isaac shakes his head. "So where does Alastair and William come into this?"

Leiv smirks. "I traveled for days without eating. I traveled mostly at night and slept for maybe an hour or two in stables. In one village, I was caught stealing food and was arrested. Since I was in Will and Alastair's father's Dukedom, I was taken to him to answer for my crimes." He takes another bite of cheese. "When I was brought in front of the Duke, William had just been knighted and was there when I was sentenced to hang." He shakes his head. "While I sat in the dungeon waiting for my execution, the Duke apparently had a change of heart. Instead I was whipped and put to work in the castle."

"How did that work?" Isaac ask, skeptically. "You said yourself you didn't speak their language. What good were you if you didn't understand?"

Leiv shrugs. "Over time, I picked up a little and both William and his sister Mary helped me."

"He has a sister?" I ask.

"Did." He corrects. "She passed away a few years ago." Seeing my sorrowful expression, he continues. "Once I learned to speak their language, all three of them continued to help me. William taught me to read and write. Alastair sparred with me and taught me to use Scottish weapons."

"What about Mary?" Isaac asks.

"Mary taught me Scottish dances, how to dress like a Scot and courtly manners." He smiles. "We were like family."

"Did you ever return home?" I frown. "I imagine you probably missed it and your family."

"I did." He nods. "Much to Mary and Alastair's dismay, Will convinced a merchant to take me on as an apprentice. I learned a lot and was able to save up enough money to eventually return home. By then my father had died and my older brother was married and had become a farmer."

"Did you stay in contact with Will and his family after you left?" I ask.

"Of course. We wrote to each other often." He frowns. "While it's unfortunate that it'll never be the 4 of us ever again, I'm thankful that Alastair is still alive and in good health." He glances at me. "You'll like him. He's so much like Will."

The very thought makes my eyes begin to tear up and I have to look away. "I can't wait to meet him." I say before I stand up, abruptly causing both men to look up at me. "I'm going to go get some air." I say before quickly walking above deck. Once out in the fresh air, stride over to the railing and exhale. After a while I'm joined by Isaac.

"Well?" I ask him, before he can speak. "What's the verdict? Do you still think he's lying?" I turn to look at him.

"Unless he's really good at concealing it, no."

I nod. "That's settled then." I look back out at the water and I feel him place a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asks.

I nod. "Yeah." I pause for a moment before lowering my voice. "I don't know how I'm going to handle meeting Alastair. To meet somebody who is just like William fills me with so much happiness and saddens me at the same time." My brows crease together as I glance at him. "Does that make sense?"

"It does. If Alastair looks or acts like his older brother, it'll give you a chance to have a piece of William but at the same time, it might reopen the wounds left over from his loss." He sighs, leaning his elbows on the railing. "It's both a blessing and a curse."

"Kind of like leaving England."

He shoots me a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

Coming to lean on the railing beside him, I shrug. "It's a blessing we left since we're being hunted by the King yet it's a curse that I'm taking you away from your life." I look away from him as the guilt grips my heart like a vice. "Isaac, about what you said…"

"Eva, don't. At the time, I was angry—"

I turn to face him. Shaking my head, I meet his gaze. "No. Let me say this." He purses his lips and waits, the guilt of his past words written on his face. I run a hand through my hair with a sigh. "What I wanted to say is you're right. When I arrived at Theo's shop, I could tell that you were far more relaxed than you've been in months. You looked happy and I was selfish for not thinking about your safety." I feel the tears beginning to breach the waterline of my eyes but I hold it back. My voice betrays me as it begins to break as I continue. "I am so sorry that you didn't get a chance to tell Sabine about us. Hopefully everything goes according to plan and we can return swiftly to England."

Moving closer, he wraps an arm around my shoulders. "As nice as that would be, I would feel better if you returned with me and were more at ease. If going to Scotland and speaking to Alastair puts your mind and soul at ease, then I will stay here as long as it takes." He offers me a grin. "As your unofficial brother, I want you to be happy. You deserve it."

I smile and reach up to touch my hand. "Thank you, Isaac. As do you."